Someone Like You
by AnimeLuvr12
Summary: After her close friend is kidnapped by Walter Bernhard, Felicity Thurstan takes up arms to rescue her. Upon breaking through the Forest of Eternal Night, her path crosses with the likes of Leon Belmont, and together, they team up to bring down the infamous vampire. Are they successful? Will they be able to save both Sara and Annette?
1. Chapter 1

_Someone Like You_

 _Chapter 1_

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Leon Belmont x OC

 _ **Please consider leaving a review. Reviews help me improve my writing, as well as learn what readers like and dislike about my stories. They are extremely helpful!**_

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Although my footsteps fell silent against the soft soil beneath me, the harsh clanking of my sword against the metal armor on my thighs echoed through the dark forest. It bounced between the nearly dead trees before finally settling in my ear canals. I grimaced at the fact that any chance I had at a stealthy approach was now lost in the wind, and I prayed that nothing would jump out at me from the recesses of the dark. My fingers were interwoven with the leather binding on the hilt of my knife, and I found my grip got a little tighter with each stride. I could feel my heart hammering against my breastplate like an animal ready to escape from a locked cage, but I kept up my pace as I hurried towards the castle on the horizon.

The forest, which was locked in eternal darkness, seemed to be closing in from all sides. The tree branches resembled arms reaching out for me, as if they were going to capture me for their lord of the night, and the roots started to take on the appearance of slithering serpents ready to strike. A wolf howled in the distance, notifying me that I was indeed not alone in these murky backwoods. I felt a chill shoot up my spine, but I persisted through the darkness.

The air was extremely crisp and rather chilly for a summer's night, and my throat burned with every breath I drew in. I could see puffs of air forming when I exhaled, just like if it were wintertime. The powers of the castle had already leaked into the forest and soil, causing the air to become cold and the light to retreat even farther than usual. That was probably the reason why it was so hard to see around me. It almost pitch black beneath the overhang of the foliage, save the moonlight that glowed from the large harvest moon that loomed in the distance. Even that was dim, though.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I reached the edge of the forest. I screeched to a halt, and my feet skid a few inches in the gravel. When I looked up, all I could see was the large looming silhouette of the castle. There were several towers, and it looked like it was the biggest construct in all of Eastern Europe. My mouth dropped open in awe at the sheer size of the keep, and I felt my heart drop deep into my stomach. I could feel a sense of dread slowly spreading across my body as I stared up at the massive monument. How was I going to be able to find Annette? This castle was huge, and it would take me days to search every inch of the enormous fortress by myself. I had to find her before it was too late.

Women had recently started going missing from the city, and not a single one of them had returned. No bodies had been found yet, either. They only went missing during the night, and not a single person had witnessed the disappearances. It didn't take me long to figure out that all of the missing women were being taken to Walter Bernhard's castle on the other side of the Forest of Eternal Night. He was rumored to be a vampire, from what I had heard. No one believed me when I told them what I had learned, since I was new to the area, but that didn't stop me from taking up arms to rescue my friend. If Walter Bernhard was a real vampire, that meant that he was kidnapping these women to turn them into his undead brides or to bleed them dry as a food source. I couldn't let Annette suffer either of those terrible fates.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and slowly exhaled as I attempted to focus. It was now or never, I told myself. Just as I was about to make the trek uphill to the large wooden front door of the castle, I heard fast approaching footsteps coming from behind me. I jerked my body around just in time to see a blonde haired man stumbling out of the forest, clearly jarred from the darkness and chilly air that had barraged him.

I raised my sword at him, "Who goes there," I shouted out. The man looked like he was in a heavy daze, so I repeated myself a little louder this time. My words seemed to snap him out of his trance, and he cautiously approached me. He stopped about ten feet away, and started reaching for where his sword would normally be. I guess he had forgotten there wasn't anything there. We locked eyes, but neither of us said anything at first.

After a few moments of analyzing him, I raised my sword ever so slightly, pointing the tip at a crest displayed on his blouse.

"That insignia. You align yourself with the Church?"

He nodded automatically, as if he was asked this question a lot, but then quickly shook his head.

"No, not anymore. As of today, I have renounced my title as baron to come here and rescue my betrothed."

I raised an eyebrow at his words, but I didn't lower my sword or my guard.

"Your betrothed, you say? She, too, was kidnapped by Walter Bernhard?"

He nodded again, and his blonde hair shifted gently in the wind. Soft yellow curls were layered on his head, like none I had ever seen before.

"What, may I ask, are you doing here?" He inquired as he tapped his slender fingers against his belt.

"I, too, have come to rescue someone. A friend, mind you. She was taken from the city just two nights ago, and she has not been seen since then. One of many women kidnapped, it seems. Her name is Annette Radford, of House Radford."

He cocked his head to the side, "House Radford? I know the family quite well, as I have served the Church with many of their young men. They are all fine gentlemen."

I furrowed my brows, "Enough of the Church! Who exactly are you?"

"Leon Belmont, of House Belmont. At your service, m'lady."

I sharply inhaled. I was talking to THE Baron Leon Belmont? The stories say that his combat skills are second to none. He has been hailed as a hero for several years, from what I have been told by many people from the city.

"Leon Belmont, you say? I have heard the name many a times in the nearby villages. You are quite famous these days, for both good and bad reasons it seems."

He scoffed at me, "And who are you? You have yet to introduce yourself."

I quickly sheathed my blade and took a step closer to him, "My apologies. I am Felicity Thurstan, of House Thurstan. At your service, Lord Belmont."

I gave a small bow as his name left my lips.

He waved his hand swiftly, "You no longer have to use that formality. I renounced my title."

I shrugged, "You may have renounced your title, but that cannot erase your fame. Your reputation precedes you, as I have heard many stories of your exploits as a knight. However, I dislike that your fame was created through your persecution of heretics. I would further respect you if the circumstances were different."

He gave me a confused look.

"What could you possibly mean?"

I scoffed at him, "It is not that I am a heretic, perse, but I am adamantly displeased with what the Church has been doing as of late. Burning citizens at the stake for "witchcraft" and other absurd accusations has been my main concern. I also understand that there is now such a thing as the "crusades," which is being spearheaded by none other than the Church. I have heard of mass genocide, and whole cities being leveled by fire and war. It strikes me as odd that it is happening. I am quite surprised that you did not renounce your title sooner."

My words seemed to enrage him, and he quickly turned to walk away. His red cape fluttered gracefully behind him. His boots clanked against the gravel as he marched a few steps further away.

"I do not need a reminder of my sins," He barked at me, "I killed in the name of God, for the Church, but I was so loyal to my faith that I failed to see what I was really doing. I struck down anyone the Church deemed a heretic, and I did so blindly, without question. My blade and my hands are stained with the blood of innocent lives, and there is nothing that I can do to change that. I must live with that for the rest of my life."

I almost felt bad for him. It must be incredibly hard to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but it must be even harder to harbor such burdens.

"Lord Belmont, everyone has committed at least one sin in their life. No one is perfect. But, it is what you do with the guilt of that sin that defines you. Use that guilt to save lives, rather than take them."

We both fell quiet, and I pondered on what to do next.

"If you are going into the castle to save your betrothed, we should at least work together. Two swords are better than one, and I have not an inkling of what we might face in there. I suspected we may cross paths with demons and beasts of the likes to which we have never seen. Is this an acceptable proposal?"

His face showed an ounce of reluctance, and I quickly realized why.

"If you are hesitant because I am a woman, you can cast your doubts aside. I was born into a family of warriors, and I was trained to fight at a very young age. I fair just fine on the battlefield."

A red tinge lit up his cheeks in embarrassment, and for a brief moment, he seemed like just another normal person.


	2. Chapter 2

_Someone Like You_

 _Chapter 2_

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Leon Belmont x OC

 _ **Please leave a review. Reviews help me improve my writing, as well as learn what readers like and dislike about my stories. They are very helpful!**_

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Even though he had at first been hesitant, Lord Belmont finally agreed to storm the castle with me. I guess he realized that I was right when I had said that two swords would be better than one, and I don't think he really wanted to face demons and beasts alone. I wasn't really too keen on doing it either, but I didn't have any other option when I started this journey.

"When you were running through the forest, was there a moment when you felt a strange sensation?" I asked him as I looked up at the castle.

He nodded, "Yes, it was like stepping through some kind of barrier. Did you feel it as well?"

I copied his nod, "I did. I wonder what it was?"

The sound of crunching gravel filled the almost completely silent atmosphere.

"Ah, he must really like you. You won't be able to leave now."

I reached for my weapon, "Who's there?!"

The man put his hands up to show us that he was unarmed. "Now, don't get so excited… I'm just an old man," He said as he put his hands down, "I just came to gawk at the people crazy enough to come here." By being here, did that not make him crazy, too?

"You don't seem like a monster," Lord Belmont mumbled with a confused tone.

The old man laughed, and for good reason. "Of course not. What is your name?" I glanced over at my companion. Were we going to tell our names to this strange man?

"Leon!"

I sighed. I guess we were.

"And I am Felicity Thurstan," I told the old man.

I could see the gears in his head turned, "Leon..? You're not… Baron Leon Belmont?" That title was never going to fully leave, it seemed.

"Just Leon Belmont," Lord Belmont snapped back, "I have given up my title."

He motioned to the person standing across from us, "And you, old man?"

The man gave a small bow, "Pardon me, Lord Belmont. My name is Rinaldo Gandolfi." The formalities were starting to irritate my companion.

"You can call me Leon, and I will call you Rinaldo," His attention shifted to me, "The same goes for you, Felicity. Please call me by my first name. Don't call me "Lord." We're equals now."

I blushed at the sound of my first name coming off his lips. I had not been addressed as such since my father had been killed. I had abandoned my home shortly afterwards in search of his killer, and I did not just let anyone call me by my given name.

"As you wish," Rinaldo and I said somewhat in unison.

"Now, please follow me to my cottage," Rinaldo said as he motioned towards a specific direction, "I want to talk to you both."

.

.

After we walked across the threshold, Rinaldo told us to wait a moment while he retrieved something for Leon.

"Rinaldo, can I ask you something?" Leon questioned.

"What is it?"

Leon motioned around him, "Why are you living in a place like this?" He was awfully bold for having just met this old man. Rinaldo was busy rummaging through the antiques and trinkets that littered the shelves behind the counter.

"I have unfinished business with Walter Bernhard, the master of this forest," he stated.

"Unfinished business?" Leon questioned once again.

Rinaldo brushed it off, "Not worth mentioning. I owe him…" That sounded awfully suspicious. If the rumors were true, and Walter Bernhard was indeed a vampire, then why would Rinaldo stick around? What could he possibly owe that man?

Leon placed his hands on the counter, "Well, I won't ask anymore. But… you're not in danger living so close to him?" This caused Rinaldo to turn around.

"It seems eternal life is extremely boring. He enjoys playing at cat and mouse with the hunters who come here, though, of course, there is no way that he could ever lose… He thinks that my helping hunters makes the game more fun." He continued to rummage around while Leon and I looked at each other. What had we gotten ourselves into?

"I see," Leon pondered, "But what do you mean by there being no way he could lose?" I was beginning to think that I had certainly bitten off more than I could chew. How did one even fight the evils that prowled in the shadows? Vampires, ghouls, demons, undead fiends, and whatever else haunted the halls of that castle were sure to kill us before we could ever save anyone.

"Vampires are loved by the night, and this forest is locked in eternal darkness. He has never been defeated." I began to shake my head, although neither of the males could see me.

"Well, that may be so, but I must go ahead and face him." He must really care about this girl that he is betrothed to, if he's willing to risk his life for her against a man who isn't even entirely human. I kind of sighed, realizing that I didn't have someone like that to protect me. Quite depressing, indeed.

"Did he take someone precious?" There must have been hunters before us, brought here by the same reason. From what Rinaldo had said, I took it that none of them rescued their loved ones or even made it out of the castle alive. How unfortunate for them. I just hope that Leon and I don't end up sharing the same fate as they did.

"Yes, he abducted my betrothed… How did you know that?"

A grave look crossed Rinaldo's face, "It's what he always does when he starts the game. You came unarmed. Your courage astonishes me." I resisted the urge to scoff. Courage? More like total ignorance. Who in this day and age walks around without a weapon of some kind?

"I do have a weapon, just not my sword. That belongs to the Company, and I left it behind when I gave up my title." Rinaldo and I both shook our heads.

"Honest to a fault," Rinaldo said as he casually looked towards me.

I shrugged. I couldn't deny that.

"I heard that many hunters have met their ends here. If that's the case, getting weapons shouldn't be hard." That was his plan? He left behind his sword so that he could plunder weapons from the dead hunters? I kind of school my head in disbelief as I tried to process just what his plan might be. Was he just going to wing it this entire time? Rinaldo threw a whip down onto the table.

"Take this with you. It will help you against monsters."

Leon looked it over a few times.

"What is this?" Did he not know what a whip was? I felt the urge to roll my eyes, but I knew better in the company of men.

"A whip made with alchemy. It's stronger than any dead man's discarded sword."

Leon looked over the whip one more time, "Alchemy? I'm not familiar with that word." Even I had heard of alchemy, but then again, my mind has not been tainted by the Church. I knew of all kinds of things that were deemed heretical.

"Not surprising," Rinaldo said, "The field experiments with the principles of God's creation of the world. The only person who truly understands it is Mathias." Mathias? I had no real clue who that was, but I had heard the name before. I racked my brain for answers, but Leon beat me to it.

"You know Lord Cronqvist?" The tone of his voice drastically changed, and I tried to figure out why this name was so important to Leon. An old friend? Enemy? I wasn't too sure.

"I have known him longer than you have," Rinaldo told Leon, "His family has a book of secret arts, originally handed down orally." The words "secret arts" sounded pretty suspicious right off the bat.

"Secret arts? I never knew," Leon murmured mostly to himself.

"Of course not," Rinaldo told him, "Only a handful of people in this world know about it. There are some who consider alchemy to be heresy." Bingo. Someone rang the bell.

"I see," Leon said with shock.

Rinaldo's expression grew dark.

"Are you one of them?" He asked us.

I shook my head, "Absolutely not. I'm not much of a follower to begin with, you see. So, heresy or not matters little to me." I looked to Leon and awaited his answer.

"No… If you are an acquaintance of Mathias, you are trustworthy. I will use this whip with gratitude." Leon sure was easy to win over. It didn't really take much, consider he used to fight for the Church.

Rinaldo instructed us to hold out our left hands. Leon and I both watched as Rinaldo's hands glowed with a pure white light. When he was finished, he told us that we could lower them again.

"What exactly did you do?" I asked the old man.

"Your gauntlets are enchanted now. Some enemies' attacks release a special power. If you block them with your gauntlet, you can gather that power." Leon asked what we could do with that power, and Rinaldo replied that we could use magical relics if we released the gathered energy.

"Magical relics?" Leon and I asked in unison.

"Right… Those who excel in magic can use them. I have cast a spell so that both of you can use them as well. I have some," Rinaldo pointed to the antiques and trinkets on the shelves, "You should also be able to obtain them in the castle. Right now, this is all I can do for you."

As Leon and I got ready to embark on our quest, we thanked Rinaldo for all the information he had given us.

"Wait a minute! I forgot to tell you something! The door leading to his throne is guarded by five monsters." Five monsters? There was no way we were going to be able to defeat all five of them.

"So, we will need to defeat them first."

Rinaldo nodded, "That's right. That's essentially the test you must pass to fight him." Now I could see why not a single hunter before us had survived.

"What a bothersome-"

Rinaldo interrupted Leon, "I told you before. To him, this is a game." Leon was pretty heated, and he raised his voice a little bit.

"I realize that, but-"

I raised my hand up, "Leon, did you think this was going to be easy? This Walter Bernhard has done this before, with no telling how many other hunters. He finds enjoyment in this, while his victims suffer. We are no different than those who came before us. We just have to prove that we can defeat him. If we work together, I know that we can beat the five monsters. We can save Annette, and your betrothed. And if not, then we can at least die trying. I see no greater honor." Leon nodded.

"You're right, Felicity. Let's go. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to make it through the castle."

Rinaldo told us that we could come back anytime, and that while they wouldn't be free, he would keep some potions readily available for us. I thanked him once again as Leon and I strolled out the door.


End file.
